User blog:A84hg/The 50 Scariest UK PIF's/Part 4
20. ' ' Don't inject AIDS (1988) Scare Factor: WTF Gritty public information film from 1988. A man who is obviously very ill is diagnosed with HIV, and we see him injecting his new medication. This turns into a flashback of how he contracted the virus while injecting illegal drugs. 19. Julie - DETR (1998) Scare Factor: WTF The original "Belt up in the back" version of the Julie PIF. Longer than the THINK! version. They shortened it for broadcast in 2007; it was preferred over the Backwards campaign as it has a more meaningful message to it. Quite odd when you see that this PIF was not for seatbelts in general. It actually had a specific subject: wearing a seatbelt in the back of the car. Strange to think that a subject specific PIF actually managed to transform into a far broader campaign. 18. Frisbee - Play Safe (1978) Scare Factor: WTF The entire PIF is really disturbing in general. The ending where the girl screams is alro really freaky. The creepy electronic music also makes it unnerving. 17. Fading - MNDA (1990) Scare Factor: Right out of a nightmare Seriously creepy cinema PIF for the Motor Neurone Disease Association - from 1990. You know, when PIFs were extremely disturbing and unsettling, yet still managed to somehow gain a U certificate from the BBFC. I think they were on drugs or some kind of illegal substance. I mean, there's absolutely no way a kid wouldn't be shaken up by this. You've got the scary patient suffering from the aforementioned disease, talking about how there's no hope for him and how he will die. To add to the horror is a picture of his spooky face, which stares at you as it slowly fades away into nothingness. Oh, yeah - JUST what kids wanted to see before The Rescuers Down Under. 16. Crime: Keep it out - Keep it shut (1980) Scare Factor: Right out of a nightmare Extraordinarily sinister 1980 crime prevention PIF. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Not only are the criminals scary in this, but so is the narrator. In fact, I think the latter is even more frightening. This PIF warns you about keeping everything locked, as you would expect. And they mean EVERYTHING. Seriously. Don't open the back window by even a crack. The burglars WILL get in, and they WILL take everything you own. I'd listen to this PIF just because of the narrator. The way he speaks makes it sound as though he's going to beat you up if you don't listen to him. I mean, we've heard scary narrators before in PIFs, but this guy is genuinely unnerving. I actually fear for my personal safety. Never mind the burglars when you've got a scary narrator. Why couldn't we get him for the "CRIME: Together We'll Crack It" PIFs? As you can probably guess, this PIF gets a pass from me. It effectively conveys just how intrusive a burglary can be, and to boot it also has a genuinely terrifying narrator to drive the point home. What more could you possibly want? 15. Anthony - NHS (2004) Scare Factor: SO SCARY!!! NHS anti-smoking PIF from 2005. Pretty damn depressing. Shows a man who has cancer - and my first name - and he basically talks about how his life right now is shit. Although he expresses some slight joy in the fact that his daughter is visiting soon, we are informed that he died before he even saw her. Damn. If it wasn't for the NHS, then we wouldn't have emotional PIFs like these. Keep on going, guys. 14. Smile - BUAV (1989) Scare Factor: SO SCARY!!! Disturbing PIF from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. Now that's a mouthful. It features nothing more than a creepy woman applying make-up to her face, resulting in it becoming all red and raw - and then she screams at the top of her lungs. What the fuck? This is one of the creepiest PIFs out there. And this is the cinema version. Imagine watching this in a darkened screen, closed off from the outside world. It'd be traumatic. There exists a late-night TV version with different music - so they would have to avoid paying royalties. None of them seem to detract from how disturbing it us. Rated 15 by the BBFC - and that's hardly surprising. 13. Escape - Fire Kills (2002) Scare Factor: HEART ATTACK One of the very first Fire Kills PIFs, notorious for its disturbing content; so much to the point that it was actually banned in the end. Shame, too - this is actually the best of the bunch. Kids die, old women fry, and grown men trip over their mountain bikes. Truly such a level of ineptitude has never been seen before in a PIF. That last one leaves me feeling a little doubtful. The kids and the old woman are goners - but is tripping over your bike really going to impede your escape? Sure, it would prolong your time spent in the blaze for about two seconds, but you can still get out with a good sprint. Unless of course this man is prone to accidents, and ends up tripping over every single object on his landing. That just sounds too comical for this PIF, though. 12. Hand - Firework Safety (1998) Scare Factor: HEART ATTACK Firework safety cinema PIF from 1997. I really couldn't imagine watching this in a dark theatre when I was six. It's rather horrible, and somehow managed to secure itself a U rating. What, were the BBFC smoking crack up their asses? U! A fucking U? It's a deformed, twitching hand - MISSING fingers! FINGERS! Oh, my Lord, you're idiots! 11. Kathy Can't Sleep (1991) Scare Factor: HEART ATTACK Distressing PIF - directed by Tony Kaye - as part of the Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives campaign. Very depressing. Just one solitary shot of a sad child. That's what seems so unsettling. It just doesn't stop. One of the best by far. Part 5 (the scariest of them all):User_blog:A84hg/The_50_Scariest_UK_PIF%27s/Part_5 Category:Blog posts